John menahan



(No Model.)

J MENAHAN. SPRING HINGE JOINT FASTENING FORPOGKET BOOKS. No. 271,094. Patented Jan.28 ,1883.

.7 e/l z WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MENAHAN, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

SPRING HINGE-JOINT FASTENING FOR POCKET-BOOKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,094, dated January 23, 1883. Application filed December 5, 1882. (No model.)

T2 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN MENAHAN, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Spring Hinge-Joint Fastenings for Pocket- Books and other Articles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of my improvement, shown as applied to a pocket-hook. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, partly in section, on the line 313 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of a part of the same, taken through the line m at, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the eye-plate, showing one of the hinge-eyes. provement, showing a modification. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same, showing another modification.

The object of this invention is to simplify the construction of spring hinge-joint fastenings for pocket-books and other articles, and thus lessen the cost of manufacturing such fastenings.

The invention consists in a spring hinge joint fastening constructed with a plate provided with one or-morc upwardly-projecting eyes, having laterally-projecting teeth, and an elastic bent hinged bar, whereby the fastening can be readily opened and closed, as will be hereinafter fully described.

A represents the eyeplate of the fastening, the side parts of the end of which are bent upward and have eyes, B,formed in them. Up-

on the upper part of the inner end of each eye B is formed a single tooth, 0, having its forward side parallel with the axis of-the' eye B and its rear side inclined, as shown in Fig. 3. The upper part, D, of the fastening is made of a bar bent into U form, and the ends of its arms are bent downward and have pivots formed upon or attached to them to work in the eyes B. In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the pivot is formed of a rod, E, which passes through the eyes B and through holes in the arms of the bent bar D. The bar D is made elastic, and is so formed that its arms will be held outward by its own elasticityto Fig. 5 is a plan view of the lll]-- engage with the teeth 0 of the hinge-eyes B, and can be forced inward by pressure against the said arms as the fastening is opened and closed.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 5 the ends of the arms of the bent bar D, after being bent downward, are bent outward, so as to pass through the eyes B and serve as pivots for the fastening.

In the illustration shown in Fig. 6, the ends of the arms of the bent bar D, after being bentdownward, are bent inward to pass into the opposite ends of the single eye B, formed upon the middle part of the end of the base-plate A. In this case the central eye, B, has a tooth, (J, upon each end.

If desired, only one of the arms of the bent bar I) may be held by a tooth, O, the other arm being allowed to work free; but I prefer the construction first described as causing the bar D to move more squarely when the fastening is being opened and closed.

When the improvement is used for fastening a pocket-book flap, J, an aperture, F, is formed in the plate A, secured to the body I of the pocket-book, to receive a pin, G, at tached to a plate, H, secured to the flap J, the plate H being made in U form to receive the edge of the said flap, and facilitate its attachment thereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. A spring hinge-joint fastening constructed substantially as herein shown and described, and consisting of the plate A, provided with one or more upwardly-projecting eyes, B, having laterally-projecting teeth 0, and of the elastic bent hinged bar D, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the body I and flap J of a pocket-book, of the perforated plate A, provided with upwardly-projecting eyes B, having laterally-projectingteeth O, the hinged elastic bent bar D, and the plate H, provided with the pin G, substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the said flap can be readily fastened and unfastened, and will be securely held, as set forth.

JOHN MENAHAN.

Witnesses:

JAMES T. GRAHAM, G. SEDGWICK. 

